Collaborative Agreement To Accelerate Clean Energy Options
Duke Energy, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nucor have announced partnerships to explore innovative methods that encourage carbon-free energy generation. The aim is to assist utilities in meeting large businesses’ future energy demands in North Carolina and South Carolina. The announcement was made during the White House Summit on Domestic Nuclear Deployment.
Memorandums of Understanding
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) signed this month propose the development of new rate structures, or “tariffs”, aimed at reducing the long-term costs of investing in clean energy technologies such as new nuclear and long-duration storage through early commitments.
Accelerating Clean Energy Tariffs
The proposed Accelerating Clean Energy (ACE) tariffs would empower large customers like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nucor to directly support carbon-free energy generation investments. The novel financing structures and contributions are designed to mitigate project risk and reduce costs of emerging technologies. ACE tariffs would also enable beneficial on-site generation at customer facilities and participation in load flexibility programs, making them attractive to customers with large-scale energy needs.
Clean Transition Tariff
The ACE framework would also include a Clean Transition Tariff (CTT). This feature would allow Duke Energy to supply individualized portfolios of new carbon-free energy to commercial and industrial customers. The CTT would align clean-energy generation and customer load to hasten overall grid decarbonization. This voluntary program would include protections for non-participating customers.
Future Plans and Regulatory Approvals
The ACE tariffs would introduce new, voluntary pricing structures for Duke Energy’s large commercial and industrial customers. These tariffs would need regulatory approvals in North Carolina and South Carolina. Duke Energy plans to continue working with existing and potential customers who share similar energy needs and sustainability goals.
Corporate Commitments to Clean Energy
The agreement advocates for large-scale energy demand, with Duke Energy expressing dedication to finding innovative ways to meet the growing need for cleaner energy. Amazon, as the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, strives to enable new sources of carbon-free energy. Google aims to operate every campus on clean electricity every hour of every day by 2030. Microsoft is committed to matching 100% of their electricity consumption with zero carbon energy purchases. Nucor, a sustainable steel producer, is excited to work with Duke Energy to bring the next generation of clean, reliable, safe, and affordable energy to their region.
About Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. With the goal of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050, Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition. The company is investing extensively in electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including energy storage, renewables, natural gas, and nuclear.
Original Story at finance.yahoo.com